


Friendship

by eerian_sadow



Series: Avalon [80]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Family, Friendship, Love, M/M, risks and sacrifices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-30
Updated: 2008-08-30
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:09:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9599852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: When Jazz is injured while in the field, Prowl finds out just how deep his friendship with Soundwave really is.





	

He ran.

In a state of blind panic—something so illogical that it could only have been caused by something happening to Jazz—he ran as fast as he could toward his bondmate. He had begun running the moment he had felt the first stab of phantom pain and his speed had only increased when the foreign signal—the _Decepticon_ signal—came over his comm link with Jazz’s coordinates.

Jazz had been hurt badly in the past, but never like this. Prowl had never been afraid that his mate would deactivate from his injuries like this before.

He barely registered the symbiotes when he ran past Rumble and Frenzy. Buzzsaw and Laserbeak were not a concern when they entered the edge of his sensor field a moment later. Ravage was completely ignored when the quadruped began running beside him. His only concern was getting to Jazz.

Despite his panic, he froze when he reached the coordinates and saw Jazz.

Soundwave was holding him, an energon feed connecting the Decepticon’s fuel lines to the saboteur’s. The communications officer looked up at him, expression unreadable.

“Do what you must with me, but wait until Jazz has stabilized.” Soundwave’s voice held a tone of sorrow, though Prowl was surprised he could pick that out.

He was thoroughly shocked. Jazz had told him about this side of Soundwave, but he had never really believed. He had never thought the Decepticon could be so…loving toward another mech.

“I owe you his life,” Prowl replied. “I will not harm you for that reason. Ratchet is on his way, though. I will at least have to take you prisoner to keep appearances.”

Soundwave’s entire posture changed, though he never moved. He had been resigned to his fate, and Prowl had promised something entirely different. He looked relieved. The Decepticon nodded, then turned his gaze back to Jazz. “Your condition is acceptable.”

Trusting that Jazz’s friend wouldn’t betray him to the Decepticons that were undoubtedly nearby, the tactician knelt down next to the mechs and took one of Jazz’s hands in his own.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Jazz came back online suddenly, and shot up off the medical berth in a near-panic. If Prowl hadn’t put restraining hands on his shoulders the moment he moved, he would have smacked into Ratchet’s head.

“Easy, Jazz,” the medic chuckled.

“Where’s Soundwave?” the saboteur asked.

“Safely in the brig,” Ratchet replied. “Though how Prowl managed to take him prisoner is anyone’s guess.”

Jazz turned a questioning gaze to his bondmate. “Prowl?”

“I merely took advantage of a compromising position,” he said aloud. Across their bond, he added, _I owed him your life. I couldn’t let him be deactivated and I couldn’t let him go without arousing suspicion._

“I’m sure there was more to it than that,” Jazz replied. _Thank you, love. I told him he could trust you._

_It seems you were right on that point, though I hope that is never tested again._

_Me too. High explosives to the chest plates are not pleasant._

Prowl wrapped his arms around Jazz and rested his head against the saboteur’s. “Please, don’t ever do anything that stupid again.”

Jazz laughed and hugged his bondmate in return. “No promises, love, but I’ll do my best.”

It was really all Prowl could ask of him.

“So, Ratchet? When do I get out of here?”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

If it had been any other mech, Jazz would have thought that Soundwave was in recharge when he and Prowl entered the brig. But he knew the communications officer far too well to believe that. He also knew that his friend wouldn’t ignore him when he spoke.

“Soundwave.”

The blue mech turned his head to look at the two Autobots standing outside his cell. “I am relieved that you are all right.”

“I’m glad I’m all right, too,” Jazz replied. “Thanks for saving my aft out there.”

“Thank you for saving Buzzsaw’s.”

Prowl shot him a startled look.

“Friendly fire,” Jazz replied. “The Seekers don’t like Buzzsaw or Laserbeak.”

Prowl was thoughtful for a moment. “The explosives you mentioned were ignited by the Seekers?”

“Yeah. Soundwave found me when he came looking for his sparklings.”

Soundwave was instantly angry at Jazz’s comment. He sat up on the cell’s small berth and leveled an angry gaze on the saboteur. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything about them!”

“Please remain calm,” Prowl interrupted. “Jazz did not betray your trust; I have known the symbiotes were your sparklings for meta-cycles. Blaster explained the process disturbingly thoroughly after a high grade binge.”

“My apologies,” Soundwave did not sound precisely regretful, but he did sound sincere.

“Hey, its all right. You can be mad at me when I break a promise.” Jazz grinned. “I’ll be mad at me too, when I do it.”

Prowl had the distinct impression the Decepticon was smiling at that statement, but he couldn’t tell for certain with the mask and visor.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Soundwave was in recharge when Prowl brought his energon ration. As soon as he saw the other mech’s face he could tell the difference—there was none of subtle play of light behind the red visor that he had learned to look for with Jazz. They didn’t really have time to wait for him to come back online, though, if they wanted to help him escape.

Prime would be back at the beginning of the next cycle and would want to interrogate the prisoner. If that happened, nothing but defecting would get him out of the cell; Optimus would place Soundwave under Red Alert’s watchful eye.

Prowl made an effort to make noise as he opened the cell door. Soundwave came out of recharge and sat up in the berth with a speed that might have made Jazz envious.

“Jazz asked me to bring you a ration,” Prowl said simply, trying to ease the fear written in the other mech’s posture. “He would have brought it himself, but he’s on the comm with Prime.”

“Understood.” Soundwave made no move to come toward him to take the energon. Prowl understood; in a Decepticon prison such an action was guaranteed to get you deactivated; he had seen it happen once himself.

The tactician set the energon on the floor in the center of the cell. “Thank you for saving him. Though I still don’t understand why you did it. You had to know this is how it would turn out.”

“No. I thought you would deactivate me.” The Decepticon didn’t move as he spoke, something else that Prowl had anticipated. The energon would stay on the floor until he left.

“Then why?” The Autobot was genuinely confused.

“I will always save him, even at the cost of my own spark. You of all mechs should understand.”

Prowl thought suddenly of his family, of the creator and brothers he had seen massacred in Praxis and the sister who had run away vorns before. Yes, he understood why Soundwave would offer his life for Jazz’s. It was humbling, in a way, to realize that nothing had torn Jazz and his best friend apart.

He suddenly missed Shockwave with a fierce ache.

“In other circumstances,” Prowl said with a smile, “I think we could have been friends as well. Drink your ration; it will be busy in a few groons and I don’t know when you’ll get another chance.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“You feel better?” Jazz asked as Prowl stepped back into the command center.

The command center was quiet—the other officers, aside from Ratchet, were with Optimus in Koan trying to hammer out an alliance with a neutral camp there—and Prowl cherished the peace. They saw far too little of that.

“Yes, I do.” Despite the fact that they were both on duty, the tactician walked over to his mate and put an arm around him. Jazz returned the gesture with a smile.

Quietly, they waited together for the symbiotes to come “rescue” their creator from his prison. They watched as the tiny mechs approached the base from five different angles on the sensor grid, and then switched to the internal cameras when the sensors reported the first breach of the walls. Prowl’s respect for Soundwave’s sparklings rose as he observed their speed and efficiency. Someone had planned this escape very well and he doubted it had been any of the symbiotes.

When Soundwave was gone, Jazz turned to the computers to falsify a glitch in the logs. “Wish I’d had more time with him.”

Strangely, Prowl wished he had been able to have more time with Soundwave as well.  



End file.
